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1872 

MAIN 


UC-NRLF 


B   3   S3fl   DDM 


Pam 


1872L 


THE  REPUBLICAN 


THE  PROTECTOR 

OF   THE   IMMIGRANT. 


The  North  Atnor.can  continent  const! - 
ia  a  gigantic  reservoir  into  which  all  na 
tionalities  are  poured.  Its  discovery  being 
almost  simultaneous  with  the  invention  of 
the  art  c4  printing,  the  New  World  neces 
sarily  became  the  harbinger  oi*  the  most 
advanced  systems  of  thought  in  philosophy, 
science,  and  religion.  Various  national 
types  struggled  to  gain  a  foothold  in  Amer 
ica.  Spain  conquered  South  and  Central 
America,  but  its  influence  and  dominion 
have  departed,  and  only  some  of  its  worst 
.  influences  remain  to  plague  with 
anarchy  an '1  revolution  .:lr;g  South 

American  umious.  France  also  lost  i<s 
,  and  the  Colonies  of  Holland  and 
Denmark  occupy  only  a  few  ii: '••:;.;-,  rls  of  minor 
importance.  The  English  Colonies  alone 
:d  and  increased,  so  that  for  nearly 
two  hundred  years,  until  ths  Colonial  re 
volt,  America  was  a  continuation  of  Old 
England,  with  only  such  modifications  as 
circumstances  demanded.  Since  the  begin 
ning  of  this  century  America  haa  been 
sou;  rious  nationalities,  chief  among 

I  them  being    the  German    and    the    Irish. 
The  movement  of  German,  Swedish,  and 
u  immigration  began  later,  and  haa 
oruv  reached  enormous  proportions  within 

onty-five  years. 

From  1831  to  1371,  (ten  years,.}  the  Irish 
contingent  of  this  column  of  emigration 
r2F.checi  a  total  of  081,606  souls. 

From  England  and  Scotland  the  number 
aggregated  620,123.     A  large  proportion  of 
this  emigration  must  have  been  Irish  in 
cter  also. 

Tlie  number  of  Germans  in  the  ten  years 
named  was  836,448. 

From  Scandinavian  countries  the  decade 
brought  to  our  shores  96,057  persons. 

From  other  countries  the  total  number  of 


emigrants   during    the    period    named    ira» 
136,251. 

To  recapitulate,  the  total  emigration  froa 
1861  to  1871,  from  different  countries,  wa» 
as  follows : 

From  Ireland ,,.      681, OOt 

From  England  and  Scotland 5*20 J 25 

From  Germany 

From  Sweden  and  Norway 

From  ail  other  countries., 

. 

e  iu.ce  of 
hdt'  million  of  i: 
question  ia  assurr" 
portance  second   to   \ 
Statesmen   of  the  fir-it  rank  may  w 
themselves,  Whither  arc  we  drifting? 
is  the  homogeneity  of  our  nation 
fc-rved?     By  what    moari3   are  the 
millioiis  to  be  guided  into  trie  proper  chau"- 

I  secure  tl,  •' ,-  what 

jnc-an/i  arc  they  to  bo  tau^l  :-stan<i 

our  Apolitical  inslvhuiions  V  .asurei 

are  adapted  to  implant  a  patriot's  love  for 
his   caw  home  and  ne-./  political  i  i 

Q  the  breasts  of  these  strangers?  And, 
what  measures  sbull  be  adopted  tc 
protect  them  while  npon  their  journey, 
whether  it  be  on  board  ship,  at  the  landing 
place,  or  while  in  ii'C".miiu  upon  public  coo 
veyancea  ? 

EI3TOZY   OP   EMIGR.iXT  PROTECTION. 

Up  to  1847  ueither  the  Federal  G 
ment  nor  the  several  States  took  aay  cog 
nizance  of  the  ^immigrant.  He  was  per 
mitted^  to  land,  it  is  true,  but  no  cne  was 
authorised  to  supervise  or  direct  his  move 
ments.  In  New  York,  where  the  largest 
number  of  immigrants  landed,  the  greatest 
abuses  prevailed,  and  bub  few  immigrants 


On  the  other  hand,  the  immigrant's  baggage 
is  all  weighed,  with  the  strongest  induce 
ment  held  out  to  the  weigher  to  cheat,  him, 
because  fifteen  per  cent,  commission  fees 
depend  thereon. 

Mr.  Barr,  one  of  the  commissioners,  testi 
fies  that  on  over  weight  for  first-class  passen 
gers,  they  charge  fsorn  New  York  to  Buffalo, 
$1.20  per  hundred,  biit  on  over  weight  for 
immigrant  luggage,  which  is  carried  not  by 
express,  but  upon  slow  freight  trains,  they 
charge  $1.80  per  hundred,  from  New  York 
to  Buffalo.  At  long  distances,  the  over 
freight  charges  on  the  luggage  of  a  family 
often  exceed  the  cost  of  a  first-class  passen 
ger  ticket. 

SEPARATING   CHILDREN   PKO51    MOTHK.iS. 

No  provision  is  made  anywhere  for  sup 
porting  the  pauper  immigrant,  since  he  has 
gained  no  residence  in  the  United  States. 
Outside  of  New  York,  the  traveler  is  entire 
ly  dependent  upon  the  good  will  and  charity 
of  the  neighborhood  in  which  he  happens  to 
be  settled.  In  New  York  the  commissioners 
fere  compelled  to  support  the  pauper  immi 
grant  out  of  the  capitation  tax.  •  Large  and 
commodious  buildings  are  constructed  on 
Ward's  Island,  and  paupers  are  sent  there, 
hut  practically,  this  duty  is  shirked,  and 
the  poor,  who  are  compelled  to  seek 
ihis  refuge,  and  who  have  no  friends  who 
will  probably  pay  their  board  bills,  are 
treated  in  a  manner  that  will  soon  drive 
them  from  their  asylum. 

If  a  woman  goes  there  with  children,  the 
testimony  shows  that  every  child  two  years 
of  age  is  separated  from  the  mother,  and 
placed  in  charge  of  the  commissioners  of 
charity.  The  mortality  among  infants  in 
the  public  institutions  of  New  York  is  so 
great,  that  the  separation  amounts,  in  nine 
cases  out  of  ten,  to  a  "sentence  of  death. 

BURYING  IN  THE  POTTERS'  FIELD. 

Very  often  emigrants  of  the  highest  res 
pectability  are  taken  sick  on  shipboard  and 
die  soon  after  their  arrival.  In  case  their 
friends  are  not  aware  of  their  whereabouts 
and  they  die  on  Ward's  Island,  this  Emi 
grant  Commission  pays  two  dollars  for  their 
burial.  Their  body  is  placed  in  a  pine  box 
— not  a  coffin — and  buried  in  trenches  on 
Hart's  Island,  with  all  the  other  paupers  of 
New  York  city.  Deep  trenches  are  dug  and 
this  box  is  placed  in  one  of  these,  three  in  a 
tier.  When  a  box  ia  lowered  a  few  shovels 
of  earth  are  thrown  over  it,  and  thus  box  after 
box  is  placed  until  the  trench  is  filled  up. 

A  recent  New  York  paper  in  describing 
Hart's  Island,  where  these  paupers  are 
buried,  says,  '  'that  large  mastiffs  are  allowed 
to  roam  about  at  night  to  secure  the  corpses 
the  body-snatchers;  and  that  these 


fierce   animais   often    l>rf>ak    in'<;    tic    nine 
boxes,   and  drag  the  human  bodies  across 

,  the  island  while  devoudng  them  during  the 

1  night." 

This  is  a  plain  historic  exhibit  of  the  man 
ner  in  which  the  Greeley  Democracy  is  treat 
ing  the  immigrant,  which  we  submit  to  the 
American  people  without  comment.  ( 
llous,  indeed,  must  be  tho  heart,  and  seared 
with  crime  the  conscience  that  can  remain 
unmoved  by  this  recital.  Thoss  who  cannot. 
be  aroused  to  action  by  horrors  like  these 
cannot  be  iaoved  by  eloquence,  however 
powerful  and  dazzling. 

THE   PROPOSED   REMEDIES. 

^  More  than  a  year   ago,  the  Admxnistra- 
ijtiort,  recognizing   this  lamentable  state  of 
jj  affairs,  took  measures  for  the  more  efficient 
protection  of  immigrants.     Secretary  Bout- 
well,  under  whose  official  jurisdiction  this 
subject  is  placed  by  law,  sent  a  special  agc-nt, 
who  had  his  full  confidence,  to  Europe,  to 
discover  adequate  remedies  for  the  protec 
tion  of  immigrants  on  shipboard,  and  after 
their  arrival. 

Mr.  J.  Fred.  Myers,  pn  his  return,  made 
a  report  recommending  that  the  Govern 
ment  should  take  exclusive  control  of  immi 
gration  affairs,  and  that  all  State  commis 
sions  should  be  superseded  or  subordinated. 
This  report  was  sent  officially  to  the  Com 
mittee  on  Commerce  of  both  Houses.  A 
bill  was  also  drafted  to  meet  the  views  of 
the  report,  which  was  introduced  by  Hon. 
0,  D.  Conger,  of  Michigan.  The  bill  was 
approved  unanimously  by  the  Committee 
on  Commerce  in  the  House,  and  was  offi 
cially  indorsed  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury. 

0  wing  to  the  great  amount  of  time  wasted 
in  profitless  and  angry  discussions  by  Schurz, 
Sunaner  &  Co.,  the  tariff  bill  and  appropria 
tion  bills  were  retarded,  and  the  immigra 
tion  bill  was  about  to  fail  for  want  of  time. 
The  President,  on  the  14th  of  May*,  sent  the 
following  special  message  to  both  Houses 
of  Congress  with  Mr.  Myers'  report,  and 
thus  called  attention  thereto  : 

To  the  Senate  and  Roust  of  Representatives 
of  the  United  States: 

In  my  message  to  Congress,  at  the  begin 
ning  of  its  present  session,  allusion  was 
made  to  the  hardships  and  privations  in-/ 
flicted  upon  poor  immigrants  on  shipboard, 
and  upon  arrival  on  our  shores ;  and  a  sug 
gestion  was  made  favoring  national  legisla; 
tion  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  a  radical 
cure  of  the  evil. 

Promise  was  made  that  a  special  message 
on  this  subject  would  be  presented  during 
the  present  session  should  information  be 
received  which  would  warrant  it.  I  now 
transmit  to  the  two  Houses  of  Congress  all 


that  has  been  officially  received  sin  to  that 
time  bearing  upon  the  suojeot,  ruid  recom 
mend  that  such  legislation  be  had  as  will 
secure,  first,  such  room  and  accommoda 
tions  on  shipboard  as  are  necessary  far  j 
health  and  comfort,  and  such  privacy  and  j 
protection  as  not  to  compel  immigrant's  to 
be  the  unwilling  witnesses  to  so  much  vice 
and  misery;  and,  second,  legislation  to 
protect  them  upon  their  arrival  at  our  sea 
ports  from  the  knaves  who  are  ever  ready 
to  despoil  them  of  the  little  all  which  they 
are  able  to  bring  with  them.  Such  legisla 
tion  will  be  in  the  interests  of  humanity, 
ar  d  seem  to  be  fully  justifiable.  The  immi 
grant  is  not  a  citizen  of  any  State  or  Territory 
ir.ion  his  arrival,  but  comes  here  to  become 
a  citizen  of  a  great  Republic,  free  to  change 
his  residence  at  will,  to  enjoy  the  blessing 
of  a  protecting  Government,  where  all  are 
equal  before  the  law,  and  to  add  to  the  na 
tional  wealth  by  Ms  industry. 

On  his  arrival  he  does  not  know  States  or 
corporations,  but  confides  implicitly  in  the 
protecting  arms  of  the  great,  free  country 
of  which  he  has  heard  so  much  before  leav 
ing  his  native  land.  It  is  a  source  of  seri 
ous  disappointment  and  discouragement  to 
those  "v&ho  start  with  means  sufficient  to  sup 
port  them  comfortably  until  they  can  choose 
a  residence  and  begin  employment  for  a 
comfortable  support  to  find  themselves  sub 
ject  to  ill-treatment  and  every  discomfort 
on  their  passage  here,  and  at  the  end  of  their 
journey  seized  upon  by  professed  friends, 
claiming  legal  right  to  take  charge  of  them 
for  their  protection,  who  do  not  leave  them 
until  all  their  resources  are  exhausted,  when 
they  are  abandoned  in  a  strange  land,  sur 
rounded  by  strangers,  without  employment 
and  ignorant  of  the  means  of  securing  it. 
Under  the  present  system  this  is  the  fate  of 
thousands  annually,  the  exposures  on  ship 
board  and  the  treatment  on  landing  driving 
thousands  to  lives  of  vice  and  shame  who, 
with  proper  humane  treatment,  might  be 
come  useful  and  respectable  members  of 
society. 

I  do  not  advise  national  legislation  in 
affairs  that  should  be  regulated  by  the  States, 
but  I  see  no  subject  more  national  in  its 
character  than  provision  for  the  saf^y  and 
welfare  of  the  thousands  who  leave  roreign 
lands  to  become  citizens  of  this  Republic. 

When  their  residence  is  chosen  they  may 
then  look  to  the  laws  of  their  locality  for 
protection  and  guidance. 

The  mass  of  immigrants  arriving  upon  our 
shores,  coming  as  they  do  on  vessels  under 
foreign  flags,  make  treaties  with  the  na- 
tions  furnishing  these  immigrants  necessary 
for  their  complete  protection.  For  more 
than  two  years  efforts  have  been  made,  on 
our  part,  to  secure  such  treaties,  and  there 


is  now  reasonable  ground  to  hope   »br  suc 
cess. 

U.    S.     Gi'-iNT. 

Executive  Mansion,  Nay  14,  1872. 

We  also  annex  the  following  synopsis  of 
the  law  which  is  designed  to  obviate  the  great 
wrongs  that  have  been  committed  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Tammany  Hall  Democratic 
Immigration  Commission.  It  will  be  seen 
that  it  has  been  prepared  with  great  oare,  and 
for  the  sole  end  of  benefiting  the  immigrants. 
It  is  believed  that  the  Republican  press 
and  the  people  will  insist  upon  the  enact 
ment  of  this  wise  and  beneficent  measure, 
because  immigration  has  grown  into  a  system 
— an  established  institution.  It  is  safe  to  as 
sume  that  for  the  next  fifty  years  an  average 
of  half  a  million  of  people  per  year  will  seek 
a  home  within  our  jurisdiction,  and  the  re 
fusal  to  give  adequate  protection  to  this  mass 
of  helpless  human  beings  would  be  criminal, 
and  a  blot  upon  American  civilization.  The 
Republican  party,  moreover,  is  pledged  by 
the  following  resolution,  adopted  at  Phila 
delphia  as  part  of  its  platform,  to  r 
this  cause.  Here  is  the  resolve  : 

Ninth.  The  doctrine  of  Great  Britain  and 
other  European  Powers  concerning  alle 
giance,  "Once  a  subject  always  a  subject," 
having  at  last,  through  the  efforts  of  the  Re 
publican  party,  been  abandoned  and  the 
American  idea  of  an  individual's  right  to 
transfer  allegiance  having  been  accepted  by 
European  nations,  it  is  the  duty  of  our  Gov 
ernment  to  guard  with  zealous  care  the  rights 
of  adopted  citizens  against  the  assumption 
of  unauthorized  claims  of  their  former  Gov 
ernments,  and  we  urge  continual  careful 
protection  and  encouragement  and  protec 
tion  of  voluntary  immigration. 

We  believe  that  we  have  now  proved  by 
incontrovertible  evidence,  that  wLile  the 
Democracy  has  cajoled  and  flattered  the 
foreigners  so  that  they  might  please  them, 
President  Grant  has  gone  to  the  utmoi.-!  vi-r^o 
of  hia  constitutional  privileges,  to  induce 
Congress  to  give  to  the  immigrant  adequate 
protection.  While  Brooks,  and  the  other 
Democratic  Congressmen  from  New  York 
city,  raised  their  voice  in  opposition  against 
every  attempt  to  improve  the  terrible  situa 
tion  of  the  foreign  immigrant,  and  Carl 
Schurz,  though  German  born,  and  the  other 
so-called  Liberal  Republicans  were  silent, 
President  Grant  used  all  his  influence  to  se 
cure  adequate  legislation.  If  Grant  is  re- 
elected,  and  public  sentiment  is  enlightened 
upon  this  great  question,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  he  and  Secretary  Boutwell,  who  are 
both  earnest  friends  of  the  measure,  will  se 
cure  its  adoption.  But,  inasmuch  as  Horace 
Greeley  is  surrounded  by,  and  dependent 
upon,  the  influences  of  Tammany  Hall  and 
its  power  to  manufacture  bogus  voters, 


no  improvement  under  him  can  be  ex 
pected.  We  appeal,  therefore,  to  every  one 
interested  in  this  great  question  (and  what. 
foreign  born  citizen  is  not?)  to  aid  the  Presi 
dent  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and 
the  Republican  party  by  their  votes  in  their 
earnest  efforts  to  secure  complete  protection 
azid  ejja.'il  rights  to  all  citizens,  without  re 
gard  to  previous  birth,  condition,  or  religious 
concession. 

The  complete  synopsis  of  the  bill,  which  is 
here  annexed,  will  convince  every  unpreju 
diced  mind  that  the  Government  is  in  earn 
est,  and  that  protection  ia  no  sham.  It  is 
one  of  the  most  carefully  prepared  measures 
ever  presented  to  Congress,  and  its  adop 
tion,  *and  strict  enforcement,  will  make  a 
passage  between  decks  across  the  Atlantic 
a*  comfortable  and  safe  as  an  inland  passage. 

OUTLINE    OF   THE   PROPOSED    LAW- 

Mr.  Conger's  bill  provides  for  a  hew  bu 
reau  in  the  Treasury  Department,  to  have 
charge  of  passengers  arriving  in  the  steerage 
from  foreign  ports  not  contiguous  to  the 
United  States.  The  commutation  or  head 
tax  is  reduced  to  $1,  instead  of  $2,  which  is 
now  collected  in  the  port  of  New  York.  All 
moneys  received  go  directly  into  the  Treas 
ury  of  the  United  States,  out  of  which  are 
to  "be  paid  all  charges  for  maintainiiag  the 
various  offices,  agencies,  &c.  A  supervision 
of  emigrants  is  to  bo  carried  out  by  American 
Consuls  at  the  ports  of  departure,  and  com 
plaints  for  ill-usage  made  by  emigrants  after 
landing  are  to  be  summarily  tried  by  United 
States  Commissioners.  It  is,  however,  pro 
vided  that  the  Commissioner  of  Immigration 
(head  of  the  proposed  bureau)  shall  have 
rower  to  enter  into  a  contract,  with  the  con 
sent  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  with 
any  existing  State  Commission  under  the 
prescribed  rules  and  regulations,  based  upon 
the  provisions  of  the  bill.  The  new  Com 
missioner  is  to  be  appointed  by  the  Presi 
dent,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent 
of  the  Senate,  and  is  to  hold  office  for  four 
years.  He  is  to  be  charged,  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas 
ury^  with  the  execution  of  all  laws  relating 
to  immigration,  and  to  have  power  to  make 
rales  and  regulations.  Estimates  of  the  ex 
penses  of  the  bureau  to  be  laid  before  Con 
gress  in  the  usual  manner,  and,  until  capi 
tation  tax  becomes  available,  the  bureau  to 
be  maintained  by  the  Treasury.  The  Com 
missioner  is  not  to  have  any  pecuniary 
interest,  directly  or  indirectly,  in  any  rail 
way,  steamship,  or  transportation  company 
nor  in  the  settlement  of  tracts  of  lands. 

CAPITATION"  TAX, 

The  owners,  agents,  or  master  of  any  ves 
sel  conveying  foreign  immigrants  in  the 


steerage  to  the  United  States  shall  pay  at  the 
time  of  landing  $1  for  every  statute  adult, 
to  be  applied  to  assist  the  temporary  sick, 
to  hire  or  construct  proper  landing  places, 
and  for  the  benefit  of  immigrants  generally. 
Accounts  io  be  audited  by  the  First  Auditor 
ot  the  Treasury  and  the  Commissioner  of 
Customs  and  the  tax  to  be  in  lieu  of  State 
taxes  now  imposed,  the  farther  imposition 
of  which  is  prohibited.  "Statute  adult"  to 
signify  and  include  one  passenger  over 
twelve  years  of  age  or  two  passengers  under 
twelve  years,  infants  leas  than  one  year  old 
not  being  considered  in  the  estimate  of  space 
elsewhere  mentioned. 

UNITED    STATES    IMMIGRANT  AGENTS    ABROAD. 

Provision  is  mado  for  stationing  at  the 
ports  of  Liverpool,  Hamburg,  Bremen,  or  any 
other  foreign  port  from  which  upwards  of 
forty  thousand  passengers  may  embark  an 
nually,  an  agent,  whose  duty  it  will  be  to 
inspect  vessels  carrying  immigrants  before 
their  departure  and  examine  whether  the 
provisions  of  this  act  be  complied  with  ;  to 
give  all  necessary  information  to  emigrants, 
and  to  perform  such  other  duties  as  may  be 
required  of  him  by  the  Commissioner  of 
Immigration.  Agents  are  required  to  issue 
duplicate  certificates,  stating  whether  the 
law  has  been  complied  with,  one  copy  to  bs 
given  to  the  United  States  Consul  and  the 
other  mailed  to  the  head  of  the  bureau.  In 
ports  where  the  annual  emigration  does  not 
exceed  40,000  the  Consul  to  perform  duties 
of  emigrant  agent,  and  to  receive  therefor 
an  increase  of  salary,  not  exceeding  $1,000 
per  annum. 

DUTIES     OF     INSPECTORS — SUMMARY    TRIALS. 

At  the  port  of  New  York  there  are  to  be 
appointed  four  inspectors,  acquainted  with 
tho  German,  Swedish,  French,  or  other 
languages,  and  one  at  each  of  the  other  ports 
where  immigrants  arrive  ia  large  numbers, 
who  are  to  accompany  tho  custom  officers 
on  the  arrival  of  each  vessel  carrying  steer 
age  passengers,  and  muster  said  immigrants, 
and  inquire  whether  any  of  them  have  just 
cause  of  complaint ;  and  if  there  be  probable 
cause  the  complaint  shall  be  reduced  to 
writing  and  reported  to  the  Superintendent 
or  Collector  of  Customs,  and  also  to  the 
head  of  the  bureau.  It  is  made  the  duty  of 
the  Superintendent,  or,  in  ports  where  none 
are  stationed,  the  Collector  of  Customs,  to 
prosecute  all  suits  in  behalf  of  emigrants  for 
personal  damages.  United  States  Commis 
sioners  •  are  to  have  jurisdiction  and  give 
summary  trial  in  all  cases  on  account  of  ill 
treatment  on  board  ship,  ic-sufficiency  of  or 
badly  cooked  food,  damage  to  baggage, 
swindling  in  the  exchange  of  money  or  by 
boarding-house  keepers,  abuse  by  any  per 
son  or  agent  while  in  transitu%  loss  of  time 


on  railroads,  overcharges,  or  being  placed 
in  improper  or  overcrowded  cars — the  juris- 
diction  of  commissioners  not  to  exceed  fine  j 
or  pen-ally  of  $100  in  each  case,  with  power  j 
to  commit  the  defendant  until  judgment  is  j 
satisfied. 

LANDING  DEPOT  AT  NEW  YORK — SUPERINTEND 
ENTS, 

A  landing  depot  is  to  be  established  at 
New  York  and  such  other  ports  as  may  be 
designated  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
who  shall  appoint  at  each  of  such  ports  an 
officer  to  be  known  as  the  Superintendent  of 
Emigration,  to  hold  office  for  four  years, 
v/ho  shall  give  bonds. 

PROTECTION    OP   IMMIGRANTS  AFTER  LANDING. 

It  is  made  the  duty  of  Superintendents, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Commissioners,  to 
provide  suitable  places  for  the  reception  of  j 
passengers  upon  thc-ir  arrival,  lease  the  no-  j 
cessary  wharves  and  piers  and  erect  suitable 
structures  thereon  ;  receive  all  immigrants  | 
and  superintend  their  disembarkation  and  the  ! 
landing  of  their  effects  ;  make  and  preserve 
an  accurate  record  of  the  name,  age,  occu 
pation,  birth-place,  and  present  destination 
of  each  ;  protect  them  against  imposition  and 
fraud ;  and  such  as  desire,  in  obtaining  em 
ployment;  provide,  atvthe  expense  of  the 
vessel,  for  the  immediate  and  temporary  ne 
cessities  of  those  who  arrive  destitute,  and 
furnish  such  information  and  facilities  as 
will  enable  immigrants  to  proceed  to  their 
respective  places  of  destination  in  the  cheap 
est  and  most  expeditious  manner;  and  to 
enable  them  to  make  contracts  and  other 
suitable  arrangements  with  railroad  and 
transportation  companies  for  the  conveyance 
on  the  most  advantageous  terms,  specifying 
particularly  that  comfortable  and  commo 
dious  cars  shall  in  all  cases  be  provided,  and 
that  immigrant  trains  shall  be  run  at  no  less 
than  twenty  miles  per  hour  and  without  un 
necessary  detention,  and  that  managers,  offi 
cers,  and  agents  shall  pay  due  regard  to  the 
safety,  health,  and  comfort  of  immigrants. 
The  Superintendents  may  issue  permits  to 
suitable  persons  to  convey  passengers  from 
vessels  to  the  landing  depots,  and  also  to 
persone  who  may  have  legitimate  business 
with  the  landing  or  forwarding  of  immi 
grants,  the  conveyance  of  their  luggage  and 
other  purposes  of  necessity  and  convenience. 
No  person  without  a  permit  can  solicit  im 
migrants  for  any  object  whatever. 

IMPROVED    RAILROAD    TRAVELING. 

Railroad  companies  who  carry  immigrants 
must  file  bonds  with  the  head  of  the  bureau. 
Proper  passenger  cars,  provided  with  a  stove 
and  fire  when  needed,  and  with  a  supply  of 
clean  water  for  drinking  and  washing,  to 


gether  with  water  closets  and  ventilation,  are 
only  to  be  used.  All  competing  lines  that 
have  furnished  proper  bonds  shaft  be  allowed 
to  sell  tickets  over  their  lines,  but  not  to 
places  by  circuitous  and  ummial  routes. 
Steamboats  and  canal  boats  to  furnish  iho 
same  accommodations  as  to  space  and  food 
as  ocean  steamers.  If  any  railroad  or  trans 
portation  company  violate  the  provisions  of 
the  act  the  license  to  soil  tickets  within  the 
lauding  enclosures  will  be  revoked.  In 
ports  where  no  Superintendent  is  stationed 
duties  to  be  discharged  by  Collectors  of 
Customs. 

FRAUDS    PRACTICED    IN    EUROPE. 

Great  impositions  have  been  practiced 
'•  abroad  on  emigrants  about  embarking  for 
the  United  States  by  persons  representing 
themselves  as  agents  for  the  sale  of  railroad 
tickets  on  the  principal  lines  of  the  United 
States.  Mr.  Conger's  bill  will,  if  it  be 
comes  lavrr,  put  an  effectual  end  to  the  im 
position  heretofore  practiced  in  this  respect. 
Section  22  reads:  "That  contracts  made 
in  a  foreign  country  for  the  transportation 
of  immigrant  passengers  to  interior  portions 
of  the  United  States  shall  be  illegal,  unless 
stamped  by  the  Superintendent  of  Immigra 
tion  ;  but  he  shall  stamp  the  same  if  ^it  ap 
pears  they  are  to  the  advantage  of  the  immi 
grant.  If  they  are  to  his  disadvantage  the 
Superintendent  shall  prosecute  the  parties 
who  attempted  to  act  under  them.'1' 

j  LANDING   FOREIGN   CRIMINALS. 

At  present  no  law  or  treaty  exists  to  pre 
vent  the  landing  of  foreign  criminals  or  con 
victs  pardoned  on  condition  of  emigrating 
to  the  United  States.  It  is  known  that  for 
eign  countries  have  sent  criminals  here 
undergoing,  punishment  for  their  offenses. 
State  enactments  coiild  not  reach  such  an 
evil.  The  Federal  Government  could  only 
deal  with  the  subject.  It  is  provided  in  the 
bill  now  before  Congress  that  it  shall  be 
unlawful  to  land  in  the  United  States  any 
person  who  has  been  convicted  of  an  infa 
mous  crime,  or  who  has  been  in  State  prison 
for  other  than  politisal  offenses,  or  who  has 
been  pardoned  or  released  on  condition  that 
he  should  emigrate  to  the  United  States. 
Such  persons  may  be  taken  in  custody,  if 
prima  facie  evidence  exists,  until  their  char 
acter  may  be  ascertained;  and  said  crimi 
nals  shall  be  returned  to  their  own  country 
at  the  expense  of  the  vessel  that  brought 
the  same,  and  the  vessel,  master,  or  owner, 
or  agent,  shall  forfeit,  as  a  special  penalty, 
$500. 

PROTECTION  ON  THE  HIGH  SEAS. 

The  provisions  of  the  bill  relating  to  the 
safety,  health,  morality,  and  comfort  of  emi 
grants  en  the  high  seas  are  carefully  orawn, 


aad  if  carried  out  will  be  productive  of  the 
greatest  benefits.  On  board  each  vessel 
there  must  be  furnished  good  and  well 
cooked  food,  three  meals  per  day,  e^ual  in 
quantity  and  quality  to  a  ration  in  the 
united  States  navy.  No  greater  number 
of  passengers  shall  be  carried  than  in  the 
following  proportion  :  On  the  second  deck, 
it  not  being  an  orlop  deck,  one  statute  pas 
senger  for  every  eighteen  square  feet  of  clear 
space,  exclusive  of  all  baggage,  bulkhead, 
and  other  obstructions;  and  on  the  main  deck 
and  poop  deck  one  statute  passenger  for  every 
sixteen  square  feet  of  clear  space  contained 
therein  ;  and  no  passenger  shall  be  carried 
on  an  orlop  deck  or  temporary  deck,  nor  any 
deck  where  the  height  or  distance  between 
the  decks,  or  from  the  decks  to  the  roof  is 
less  than  six  feet  two  inches  ;  nor  upon  any 
deck  not  having  good  and  sufficient  side 
lights  and  ventilation  ;  nor  upon  any  sailing 
vassal  except  upon  the  main  and  poop  decks. 

SEPARATION  OF   SEXES — HOSPITALS   ON  BOARD 
SHIP. 

Each  deck  upon  which  passengers  are  car- 
n-;-d  is  to  be  divided  into  at  least  three  dis 
tinct  compartments,  separated  by  well  con 
structed  bulkheads;  the  foremost  of  which 
saall  be  occupied  by  single  male  passen 
gers  .above  the  age  of  twelve  years;  the 
next  abaft  to  bo  occupied  by  families  con 
sisting  of  husbands  and  wives  and  their  chil 
dren,  and  the  next  compartment  by  single  \ 
females  above  the  age  of  twelve  years,  and 
each  compartment  to  be  connected  with  the 
d.eck  by  suitable  companion-ways.  A  hos 
pital  for  each  sex  shall  b-3  provided  in  a 
proper  part  of  the  vessel.  They  shall  con 
tain  twenty  square  feet  of  room  for  every  fifty 
passengers  carried,  nnd  fitted  with  suitable 
bedding.  Every  .ship  carrying  over  one  hun 
dred  passengers  must  have  on  board  a  duly 
qualified  physician,  with  a  suitable  supply  of 
ciedicincs,  surgical  instruments,  &c. 

FORBIDDEN   FREIGHT. 

Proper  means  of  ventilation  and  sufficient 


places  for  cooking  food  shall  be  provided  — 
food  to  be  issued  daily  before  two  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  and  extra  provision  to  be  mado 
for  the  sick  and  infants.  No  vessel  convey 
ing  passengers  shall  carry  as  cargo,  horses, 
cattle,  gunpowder,  bituminous  coal,  naphtha, 
benzine,  petroleum,  nitro-glycerine,  lucifer 
matches,  or  any  other  explosive  articles 
which  ignite  by  irietion;  guano,  green  hides, 
or  any  other  articles  either  0,3  ballast  or 
cargo,  which,  by  reason  of  the  nature,  quan 
tity,  or  mode  of  storage,  would  be  likely  to 
endanger  the  health,  comfort,  or  safety  of 
passengers. 

r  n  o  v  i  s  i  o  N-  s  . 


The  masters  of  passenger  ships  on  arriving 
in  the  United  States  are  to  deliver  the  cer 
tificates  of  consuls  based  upon  the  report  of 
the  emigration  agent  abroad  and  report  to 
the  Collector  a  list  or  manifest  of  passengers 
on  board,  ,  designating  age,  sex,  &c.  ;  the 
compartment  of  the  vessel  occupied  by  each 
during  the  voyage,  and  shall  farther  set  forth 
whether  any  or  what  number  died  on  the 
voyage  ;  which  list  or  manifest  must  be 
sworn  to  by  the  master.  A  penalty  of  $10 
is  to  be  paid  the  Collector  of  Customs  for 
each  statute  adult  who  may  have  died  during 
the  voyage.  At  least  one  copy  or  a  synopsis 
of  this  act,  printed  in  such  language  as  the 
officer  charged  with  the  superintendence  of 
emigration  at  the  port  of  departure  shall  pre 
pare,  shall  be  kept  posted  up  in  a  conspicu 
ous  place  ia  each  compartment  during  the 
entire  voyage.  It  is  made  illegal  to  convey 
passengers  in  the  steerage  from  any  foreign 
port  not  contiguous  to  the  United  States  to 
airport  within  the  jurisdiction  of  th?  United 
States  in  contravention  of  the  provisions  of 
this  act,  and  owners,  agents,  or  master  of 
any  vessel  attempting  to  land  steerage  pas 
sengers  in  violation  of  its  provisions  become 
liable  to  a  fine  not  exceeding  $5,000,  to  be 
recovered  in  any  Circuit  or  District  Court  of 
the  United  States. 


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